MAN ARRESTED IN RITCHIE INSERTS METH IN RECTUM WHILE BEING BOOKED

(01/29/2021)
A Parkersburg man has received drug charges after deputies said they found drugs on his person when he attempted to smuggle an illicit substance into jail.

On Jan. 27, deputies with the Ritchie County Sheriff’s Department performed a traffic stop on a 2005 Dodge Dakota on 1924 Cisco Rd. in Cairo “due to an expired registration and impeding traffic,” according to a criminal complaint.

When deputies made contact with the vehicle’s driver, identified as John Roberts, 25, of Parkersburg, they could “smell the odor of marijuana coming from his person,” deputies said.

Roberts stated that “he had a ‘roach’ in his pocket,” and deputies located a black plastic bag in his jacket pocket, where they found three bags that contained a white, crystal-like substance that was presumed methamphetamine, according to the complaint.

The substance tested positive as methamphetamine and weighed 71.68 grams. Deputies also said they found $598 on Roberts.

Deputies also located a .22 caliber pistol in Roberts’ vehicle, which Roberts is unable to be in possession of due to previous felony convictions, as well as finding a Honda “street bike,” which was listed in NCIC, according to the complaint.

While being booked at North Central Regional Jail, Roberts received a “full body scan” that showed “an anomaly in his rectal area.” At that time, Roberts was asked “several times if he had anything inserted into his rectum,” which “[h]e denied several times,” deputies said.

Jail staff members informed deputies that Roberts would need to “go to the hospital to remove the object,” but Roberts, at that time, admitted to “inserting a baggy into his rectum” which was removed and secured into an evidence bag; the bag contained 5.5 grams of methamphetamine, according to the complaint.

Roberts has been charged with possession with intent to deliver. He is being held in North Central Regional Jail.